


Rival

by sheiksleopardthong



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: M/M, Religious Conflict
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-28
Updated: 2012-12-28
Packaged: 2017-11-22 18:49:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/613060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheiksleopardthong/pseuds/sheiksleopardthong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Why can't we just be together? The world isn't such a complex place. Merry Christmas Shawn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rival

“Aaand the winner iiiiiis~” the announcer took a moment to build the anticipation, a knowing grin on his face, “Hayner! Come on down to collect your prize!”  
The crowd parted as Hayner made his way to the edge of the struggle ring, hopping down and heading to the announcer, taking a dramatic moment of his own before turning around and holding the trophy above his head, triumphant grin on his face.  
“Seifer’ll get ya next time, y’know?” Rai called over the cheering crowd, grumbling when Fuu put a quieting hand on his bicep.  
“In his dreams,” Hayner called back before joining Pence and Olette in the crowd. “You guys go on ahead, I want to greet some of my adoring fans,” he said after giving them both a hug and handing his trophy over to Pence. “Put this in the usual spot; I’ll meet up with you guys later okay?”  
“Sure. See you later, Hayner!” Olette clapped him on the shoulder before tugging Pence off in the other direction and leaving the sandlot.  
Hayner mingled with the adoring crowd as they piled back into the rest of town – either to go home or to work. Soon he was the only one left in the sandlot, and the blond sat on the edge of the ring, looking around absently with a small smile on his face.  
A glance up at the clocktower caused him to narrow his eyes. “You’re late,” he said under his breath.  
“I’d rather be a little late than risk being followed, lamer,” a deeper voice called from the street leading into town. Hayner looked over to see Seifer meandering over to the ring, hands in the pockets of his duster.  
“They take awhile to ditch? You must be losing your touch, oh fearless leader,” the shorter boy snickered.  
“Don’t they always?” Seifer grumbled, leaning down once he was in front of Hayner so their faces were mere inches apart. “Now are you happy to see me or not?”  
He didn’t respond verbally, instead wrapping his arms around Seifer’s neck and kissing him slowly.  
Seifer chuckled and reciprocated the kiss, one hand pulling around Hayner’s waist to a stand, the other grabbing a fistful of dirty blond hair. Seifer pulled away when he realized he’d forgotten to breathe for a little too long.  
“Congrats,” the taller boy said quietly, touching his nose to Hayner’s. “You put on quite a show earlier.”  
“You didn’t let me win, did you?” Hayner eyed the other warily, knowing it was something he would – and had – done.  
Seifer shook his head. “Nope. Can’t you smell how hard I worked during that match? No point getting all sweaty if I’m going to throw it, right?”  
Hayner rolled his eyes, smirking. “You are pretty rank, yeah. How did I not notice it before, I wonder?”  
“Probably because you were too busy being kissed thoughtless~”  
The younger laughed. “You’re not _that_ good, Seifer.”  
“Wanna bet?” Seifer dipped down and locked their lips again, giving Hayner little warning before slipping his tongue into the other’s mouth, exploring the wet cavern and meeting Hayner’s half-hearted resistance full-force, battling for dominance. One of his legs forced its way between Hayner’s, rubbing his inner thighs slowly as Seifer nipped the boy’s lips playfully.  
A low groan escaped Hayner’s throat, and he pulled himself up by tightening his grip around the older boy’s neck, returning the kiss and the grinding roughly.  
“Hey, hey,” Seifer pulled away, causing Hayner to whine a little, though the taller boy had the self-control to not let out a whine of his own. “What if someone walks by, hm?”  
“Screw them. Why can’t we just do whatever we want?” Hayner growled quietly, “It’s not like anybody’ll really care, right?”  
Seifer was quiet for a short while, not looking at anything in particular, gaze kind of focused somewhere past the struggle ring. The silence echoed in the couple’s ears for those few moments, far off sounds of Twilight Town the only thing keeping their ears from ringing with the sheer lack of noise.  
“You don’t think Pence and Olette will care?” Seifer finally asked, voice barely rising above the silence.  
“Of course not,” Hayner responded, eyes narrowing in confusion. “They’re my friends. Why wouldn’t they accept me? Hell, they probably have figured out I’m not straight already. I’m not exactly trying to hide anything…  
“Do you…not think your friends will accept you?”  
Seifer groaned, pulling away and sitting on the edge of the ring, burying his face in his hands for a moment before looking at Hayner, who’d sat back down, joining him. “I don’t know,” he said. “But what if they don’t? What’ll I do then?”  
“Find new friends?”  
“But I like _these_ ones! Rai and Fuu..and Vivi… They’re my _friends_ , Hayner!”  
“If they don’t accept you for who you truly are, and who you choose to spend your time away from them with, were they ever your friends to begin with?”  
Seifer glared at Hayner before his expression softened, unable to be angry at such sincere blue hues for longer than a brief moment.  
“I’ll be the laughing stock of the town.”  
“There are plenty worse things than being gay, Seif’. You know that, right?”  
“…You know my answer to that.”  
Hayner sighed loudly, anticipating the start of an old argument. “You know they’re wrong – “  
“I know that! Of course I know that but how am I supposed to convince them, huh!? The moment I say anything they’ll kick me out of the house and disown me!” Seifer’s hands rested on his thighs, clenching into white-knuckled fists as his desperate gaze settled on Hayner’s face, brow knit in upset.  
Hayner spoke quietly, meeting Seifer’s harsh gaze with a wide-eyed one of his own. “You know you’d have a place to stay.”  
“I know…I know. But… It would still suck, you know?”  
“I do…but it’s who you _are_ , Seif’.”  
“Who I am sucks,” Seifer laid back, into the ring, in a gesture of defeat.  
“You don’t mean that,” Hayner said, looking down at his rival with a frown.  
Seifer sighed. He didn’t regret Hayner, and wouldn’t give him up for anything. But if he could go back and change things from the beginning…the struggler would do it in a heartbeat.  
*---x---*  
“…And thank you for Seifer not getting injured in his struggle match this afternoon. Amen.”  
Seifer opened his eyes slowly, unclasping hands with his parents before digging into dinner.  
“You certainly worked up an appetite, didn’t you?” his father laughed, loading his plate slowly.  
“Well it was a whole tournament, Dad. I’m exhausted.”  
“You did stay out with your friends for quite awhile after, yes,” his mother said, brow creased in a frown. “You spend a lot of time with them. It’s a wonder your grades aren’t dropping. But I wish you’d be home more often. It’s quiet without you around.”  
“I’ll try to make it home earlier from now on, Mom,” he responded, glad his mouth was full of food so the slight break in his voice was inaudible.  
Appeased for the time being, Mrs. Almasey ate her dinner daintily, and the meal continued in silence. It wasn’t until Seifer was doing the dishes later that the doorbell rang.  
“Who could possibly be here at this hour?”  
“Here, Mom I’ll get it,” Seifer wrung his wet hands and went to answer the door.  
“Don’t be silly, dear, I’m already halfway there,” she responded, opening the door to see a short, blond boy standing there fidgeting.  
Seifer’s eyes widened and he threw his hands up in a “What the fuck are you doing here??” gesture, and only got an apologetic glance in response.  
“Hello Mrs. Almasey. I’m Hayner and – “  
“I know who you are, dear. You and Seifer are always competing for the top spots in the struggle matches. What brings you here so late?”  
“I just…wanted to give Seifer something he forgot at the sandlot today,” Hayner kept his stance strangely confident, though he felt anything but.  
Hayner was let inside and he stood in the foyer, Seifer joining him, crossing his arms and glaring like he did when they weren’t alone. “What do you want, chicken wuss?”  
“I’m surprised you didn’t pick up your prize, idiot. Just how devastated were you when I thoroughly whooped you?”  
Seifer rolled his eyes. “Just give it to me, will ya?” He wondered what Hayner had up his sleeve. There hadn’t been a second prize, after all.  
Hayner tossed something the older boy’s way, and Seifer caught it before looking at his hand at the small silver-plated orb.  
“See ya around, Seif’,” Hayner said quietly before heading back out, closing the door behind him.  
Seifer grunted, heading to his room to put the orb away. It looked like one of the ones that came from the struggle trophies, but not colourful. Turning it around in his hands, Seifer discovered an inscription.  
 _Seifer Almasy_  
 _&_  
 _Hayner Nakamura_  
 _I love you._  
Seifer laughed under his breath and put it in the top drawer of his desk, at the back beside all the other dumb things he’d gotten from Hayner: a pen with his name, a sketch from art class, and a hand-decorated pipe (never used. Seifer would never do drugs, he’d told his parents multiple times).  
“Love you too, lamer,” he murmured, a small smile on his face. “And maybe that isn’t such a bad thing.”


End file.
